Computers, such as personal computers, are often connected to data networks, such as the Internet, for accessing information stored on the data network. Servers are sometimes connected to a data network to enable several computers to access the information that is stored within the network. The information accessed by a server (e.g., that may be called an initiator) may be stored in a storage system that communicates with the server.
For example, a server may exchange information with the storage system using a particular protocol that defines the rules for exchanging information between the server and the storage system. An example of such a protocol is a SAS (Serial Attached SCSI (small computer serial interface)) protocol. A server may include a controller, such as an array controller, to couple the server to the storage system according to the particular protocol, such as the SAS protocol.
Some storage systems may include a storage array. A switch may facilitate communication between the server (the initiator) and the storage array using the particular protocol, such as the SAS protocol. For example, the switch may be referred to as a network switch (e.g., a SAS switch for storage systems that communicate with a server using the SAS protocol).
A storage array may include a plurality of storage locations, such as slots, e.g., that may be called bays. Each slot may be configured to receive a storage device (e.g., that may be called a target of the initiator), such as a disc drive, a tape drive, etc. For example, each slot may include a connector that connects, e.g., via hardwiring, a storage device to the switch. Some storage arrays may be contained in one or more storage enclosures.
Some storage systems may communicate with more than one server. For example, in response to user inputs, the switch may couple each server to a portion, such as a group (e.g., sometimes called a zone group), of the storage locations of the storage array. This may be referred to as zoning. An example of where a user might create a zone group assigned to a server may involve a bladed server, where the user might create a zone group for each server blade.